The subject matter disclosed herein relates to composite materials and, more particularly, to consumable cores for use in the manufacture of composite articles and related methods.
Current methods of manufacturing ceramic composite articles (e.g., melt infiltration processes) include the use of a liquid-phase infiltrant material (e.g., silicon, silicon alloys, etc.) which is introduced into a volumetric material/composite precursor to form a composite article. During manufacturing, this infiltrant material is absorbed upon the exposed surfaces of the composite precursor, wicking into the composite precursor to form the composite article. In the manufacture of composite articles with hollow features, a typical process is to insert a removable core into the inner portions of the hollow composite precursor to form the cavity. The core is subsequently removed exposing inner surfaces of the composite precursor. The core removal must occur prior to melt infiltration to prevent the infiltrant from reacting with the core, bonding it to the composite article and preventing core removal. Some manufacturing methods include removable cores which are designed to be melted or burned out in a separate process following formation of the composite article. Some other manufacturers design composite articles with structural holes large enough to extract the removable cores from within the article. These methods may limit article design or performance, require additional steps in the manufacturing process, and/or expose components and portions of the composite article to thermal extremes which may damage or destroy the article.